There aren't many people in this country who view freetrade as positively as I do. As industry minister in theMulroney government, I participated in the 1985 ShamrockSummit that set the stage for our trade agreement withthe United States. I was even responsible for replacingthe Foreign Investment Review Agency with InvestmentCanada, a welcome mat for our partners to the South.

There also aren't many people who view the maintenanceof law and order as a higher priority than I do.

But this past weekend, I was shocked by events in QuebecCity. Shocked by what I saw, and stunned by what mywife, Noreen, and I personally experienced.

I believe Canada is right to view free trade as a modelfor democratic development in every corner of ourhemisphere, and I was delighted to see us host theSummit of the Americas. But our government is dead wrongto behave in a manner that suggests we have forgotten whatdemocracy is all about.

Noreen and I arrived in Quebec City last Friday at about5 p.m. We had heard about the so-called security fenceand wanted to see it firsthand, to walk along beside it.My first view of the fence was in front of the ChâteauFrontenac. It brought back memories of many happy visitsto that hotel. But, this weekend, I could not enter: Thehotel was inside the fence, I was outside.

As we walked around the perimeter, a 40-year-old chappassed us, and asked: "Where is your gas mask?" I askedwhat he meant. He said: "There is gas farther on --watch out." We continued until we saw our first contingent ofriot-geared police lined up three deep behind a closedgate. They were an intimidating sight -- in battle dress, withhelmets, masks, shields and assorted elaborate weapons.I was glad, this time, that they were inside the fenceand we were outside.

Farther on, just before we got to Dufferin Street, therewere perhaps 50 people -- protesters, it turned out -- whowere standing or sitting on a small side road. At theend of the road, we saw a much larger group of riot policestanding shoulder-to-shoulder, several rows deep. Theroad was well away from the security fence. In fact, thefence was nowhere in sight.

I spoke with many of the people in the street, askedthem why they had gathered, why they opposed the freetrade proposals. It was a lively but friendly exchange.

We were interrupted as the police down the road began aneerie drumming, rattling their riot sticks against theirshields. Slowly, in unison, one six-inch step at a time,they began marching toward us. Noreen and I moved to theside of the street, as the protesters remainedstationary. Some formed V signs with their fingers.

To my horror, the police then fired tear gas canistersdirectly at those sitting or standing on the road.

As clouds of gas began to spread, Noreen and I felt oureyes sting and our throats bake. We pulled whateverclothing we could across our mouths. One young woman,who had been among the protesters, offered us somevinegar. "What's that for?" I asked. "It takes away thesting," she said. And it did help.

The police, however, kept advancing. One large policemanwith the number 5905 on his helmet, pressed rightagainst me and ordered me to get behind a railing. "Ihaven't done anything," I protested. "Why?" He simplyreplied: "Get behind the rail." Then he added, "and getdown." I did so.

I shook my head. I never thought I would ever see thiskind of police-state tactic in Canada. What we witnessedthat night was mild compared to events the next afternoon.

This time, walked along the fence until we reached thegate at René Lévesque Boulevard, where a great crowdhad gathered that included TV cameras and reporters. Iwas asked for an interview by a CBC crew but, before wecould begin, dozens of tear gas canisters were fired,water cannons were sprayed and rubber bullets began to hitpeople nearby. Three times, I felt I could not breathe, myeyes were sore and all I could do was run. In the bedlam,my wife and I were separated for almost three hours. Shesaid she had almost passed out from the gassing.

We lost something else, besides each other, last weekendin Quebec: our innocence. This government, and somereporters, like to brand the Quebec City demonstratorsas "hooligans." That is not fair. I talked to dozens of them,mostly